A. ROLL CALL
Members Present: Richard Aries, Robert Dickinson, William Vees
Members Absent: Donald Antaya, Carol Fletterick and Vicki Paliulis
Alternates Present: Ed Havens, Jr. sitting in for Donald Antaya
Richard Siedman sitting in for Carol Fletterick
Staff Present: C. Fred Shaw, Superintendent of Pollution Control
Ether A. Diaz, Recording Secretary
Others Present: Thomas Bjorland, Town Employee
Don Gonsalves, Town Resident
Chairman Richard Aries called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The following actions were taken during the October 15, 2013 Regular Meeting of the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA).
B. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS
September 3, 2013 – Regular Meeting
The minutes of September 3, 2013 regular meeting were modified as follows:
On page 4, the 3rd paragraph, 8th sentence: change the word “relieve” to “relief”. Therefore, the sentence should read as follows: “He does not see that there can be any other system that creates more fairness; what it will do in his view is create a little bit of relief for some and a higher cost for others.”
On page 5, the 1st paragraph, 3rd sentence: change the word “have” to “has”; the sentence should read as follows: “Mr. Gonsalves also explained that he has made many requests to obtain a copy of the reserve schedule, however, the Town doesn’t provide it.”
On page 5, the 2nd paragraph, 11th sentence reads as follows: “Chairman Aries asked Mr. Gonsalves to please inform the Town Council that the WPCA is looking forward to having a joint meeting as soon as possible.” Mr. William Vees explained that his recollection of this was that Chairman Aries intention was to contact the Town Manager; Chairman Aries agreed. Therefore the sentence should read as follows: “Chairman Aries informed Mr. Gonsalves that he would contact the Town Manager to inform him that the WPCA is looking forward to having a joint meeting with the Task Force/Advisory Committee as soon as possible.”
On page 6, Item 5, 1st paragraph, the 5th sentence should read as follows “A copy of this amendment was sent to the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) for their review and approval; and if DEEP is agreeable, they will consider this work eligible for 55% planning grant money.”
At this time Chairman Aries appointed Mr. Ed Havens, Jr. to sit in for Mr. Donald Antaya and Mr. Richard Siedman to sit in for Ms. Carol Fletterick.
Motion was made to accept the minutes of the September 3, 2013 regular meeting as amended.
The motion was made by Mr. William Vees
The motion was seconded by Mr. Ed Havens, Jr.
The motion carried unanimously
C. NEW BUSINESS
1. Public Information/Newsletter (Discussion)
Chairman Richard Aries explained that this discussion is the result of a telephone call he received from Mr. Adams, a Town resident. He explained that Mr. Adams called him and talked about the sewer charge billing; Chairman Aries explained to him the rational behind the billing. In this conversation, Mr. Adams made a point afterwards to say that the Town should provide more information to the residents, maybe in the form of a news letter.
Mr. Fred Shaw explained that there is a variety of different ways in which to provide information to the public. One is to send out inserts included with the bills as was done in previous years (see Exhibit A); however, the residential sewer user charge bills are sent out only once a year. He also explained that having a link on the Town’s website where the public could acquire information is another option. Mr. Shaw explained that the Authority has gotten some press that was misleading over the
last several years; most recently in a letter to the editor of the Patch from Mr. Don Gonsalves. A copy of the letter was distributed to members of the Authority (see Exhibit B). Mr. Gonsalves was in attendance this evening to voice his concerns.
Mr. Robert Dickinson reported that another option is for residents to subscribe to the Town’s website to receive information by email. Chairman Richard Aries commented that the Town’s website could be upgraded to make the WPCA link easier to access. He suggested putting a yearly summary in each year’s billing cycle to explain sewer rates and how the decision was made to keep the same rate or increase the sewer rates. Mr. Fred Shaw reported that the Town also has public access television whereby the Town can put on shows; there is currently a monthly schedule on different topics.
There was a consensus that it will be a good idea to provide more information to the public. Mr. Shaw will provide some examples of different ways in which the Town now provides information to the public.
2. Current Reserve Fund Status and Reserve Fund Principles (Discussion)
Mr. Fred Shaw explained that the Pollution Control budget was reviewed over three separate meetings (January, February, and March) of the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) this year. During the February meeting, the WPCA reviewed the budget report listing all the capital projects. Mr. Shaw distributed a copy of this report (see Exhibit C) and explained that each of the projects listed will be completed within the amount appropriated for that purpose. He explained that the WPCA has adopted a
policy concerning reserve funds - the Operating Reserve Fund and the Equipment Replacement Reserve Fund. Currently, there are reserves for specific capital projects that are ongoing and in some cases near the end of completion. Once the projects are completed, Mr. Shaw has to come back to the WPCA to close out these projects; any excess funds will be put into two undesignated reserve fund. The budget report is always available to whom ever asks for a copy; it can be produced upon request, however it is not on the website. The capital projects report reflects the end of last fiscal year; it does not reflect the funds that were originally appropriated. A copy of the capital projects report was previously given to the sewer user charge Task Force Committee for review. Mr. Shaw pointed out the different projects that extend over more than one fiscal year; and the different projects that show actual balances at the end of the fiscal year. For
example, he explained, that on page 3: the Treatment Plant is a project that is still opened. It shows a negative $26 million but this is misleading as the Treatment Plant project has been completed. Also, on page 3, the I/I removal and manhole rehabilitation - the current total balance of that reserve fund is $256,121. Also, some of these projects have grant funds coming in but they are not reflected in the report. On page 4 the sewer line extension project shows a remaining balance of $42,000; however, this is a state project which involves an extension of sewer on Pleasant Valley Road; it is a state project which cannot be closed out because the State must first complete a project audit.
The current balance of the reserve for capital projects is $894,639.53. Mr. Shaw explained that sometime this year he will try to have the report modified so as to reflect the reserve fund policy (see Exhibit D). He explained that the purpose of the reserve fund policy is to stabilize the user fees while making sure that sufficient funds are available to handle future anticipated and unanticipated expenditures for equipment replacement and to provide for expenditures exceeding budget estimates or revenues
less than budgeted.
Mr. William Vees asked Mr. Fred Shaw how much is going in to each of the reserves. Mr. Shaw responded that it will vary because is going to be based upon the average of several previous years. There will be about $6 or $700,000 in the Operating Reserve Fund to be accomplished over a 5 year period and about $14 millions for the Equipment Replacement Reserve Fund to be accomplished over a 10 year period.
Mr. Vees asked what the consequences would be if the WPCA decides to reduce the amount of money going in to the capital reserve funds. Mr. Fred Shaw responded that there is a 20 year plus projection of anticipated expenditures in which the WPCA is going to need to be prepared for in the future. Also, the WPCA is still going through a sewer system evaluation which includes a projection of costs in the future based upon the last study report. Mr. Shaw explained that reserves are needed as it will provide for leverage and gives an opportunity to make decisions; also reducing the goal to fund reserve will cause user fees to be unstable in the future.
Chairman Richard Aries explained that in preparation for next year budget review he will like to get a more clearly explanation of what the asset value is and he’ll like to see some columns that talks about the reserves. With no further questions or comments from the Authority, Chairman Aries moved on to the next item on the Agenda.
D. COMMUNICATIONS AND REPORTS - None
E. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Mr. Don Gonsalves, resident of the Town of South Windsor, was present this evening to voice his concerns. He reported he has written a lot of letters to the Patch as he feels the WPCA has too much money in reserve. He explained the Town is paying the bonds for the upgrade of the Treatment Plant through property taxes; however the WPCA is also reserving funds for the same purpose. The Town Manager provided him with a copy of the WPCA budget. Mr. Gonsalves asked for the difference between the total revenue and the expenses of a $4.9 million total budget income. He stated he has requested for years a copy of the reserve account and it has not yet been provided to him. He is not interested in the capital projects reserve but in the reserve that is set up for future unexpected problems.
He explained that there used to be schedules showing those types of reserves. He also explained that at one time there was going to be a $700 sewer fee which was based on an erroneous schedule which showed $57 million in reserve. He asked where is that reserve.
In response to Mr. Gonsalves questions, Mr. Fred Shaw responded that the sewer user fees from years ago of over $700 were based upon a worst case situation when the Town was possibly not receiving any grants for nearly $50 million for the pump stations upgrade and the treatment plant upgrade. The $57 million reserve fund balance that Mr. Gonsalves referred to was the result of a mistaken number that was put in to a cell on a spread sheet. This was brought up at the Council meeting, the error was corrected and subsequent reports were prepared showing new projections. Mr. Shaw distributed the report on capital projects funding (see Exhibit C). In the budget there are undesignated funds available and anticipated expenditures. The goal is to plan to fund the Operating Reserve and the Equipment Replacement Reserve. Until that point, the only funds available are those funds that haven’t been expended through the capital projects.
Mr. Gonsalves stated the WPCA budget does not balance. Mr. Shaw responded that the budget does balance however that balance is not included in the report that Mr. Gonsalves received from the Town Manager.
In reference to the budget, Mr. Gonsalves asked the Authority to explain the purpose of $740,000 appropriation fund balance. Mr. Shaw responded that this past year the Authority began to repay the debt service early because the Town received erroneous information from the State on the debt service schedule for the Treatment Plant upgrade.
The budget was finalized on fiscal year 2012/2013 before the error was discovered. The Authority had not appropriated any funds during fiscal year 2012/2013 to begin the early repayment of that debt service. However, it was learned that the Town could save significant funds by starting to repay the debt service in October of 2012 and the Authority did so out of the WPCA reserves. In response to Mr. Gonsalves questions 1 and 3 in his letter to the Patch (see Exhibit B), Mr. Shaw responded that the
$560,000 replacement reimbursement and the $700,000 reimbursement are reimbursements back to the reserve fund to replace funds that have been used for the early repayment of the Plant debt service and would be set aside for future projects.
Mr. Gonsalves stated the Town property taxes increased this year because of the repayment for the Sewer Treatment Plant upgrade. The original plan was that the WPCA was going to pay for the upgrade and the Authority was setting up a reserve for that purpose. He doesn’t understand why tax payers are getting charged twice through property tax and sewer user tax. Mr. Shaw responded that the residents are not getting charged twice. If the debt service was going to be taken from the user fees, the user fees would be higher than $374 this year. It was a policy decision; the Town decided that for a variety of reasons they were going to handle the debt service for the Treatment Plant upgrade through property taxes. Mr. Richard Siedman commented that there was a joint meeting, two year ago,
between the Town Council and the WPCA. In that meeting, the mayor at that time promised to reduce the sewer user fees. The WPCA responded that they were preparing to put aside funds for the dept service; the only way the Authority could reduce the sewer fees was if the Town paid for the sewer plant and they agreed to do so. That year the sewer user charge went down from $340 to $288.
Mr. Gonsalves still expressed that the budget shows revenue and expenses but not the budget balance and he wants to know how much the difference is. Mr. Gonsalves stated that he will request that information from the Town Manager as the Authority seems not to have that information available. Mr. Shaw responded that everything in the budget has been identified, and the expenditures equal to revenue. There is a list of all the projects, operating expenditures and the debt service; this information can be provided upon request. With no further comments or questions the Public Participation ended at 8:05 p.m.
Mr. William Vees asked if there are any actual items available for clarity for those who may be computing the expenses. Mr. Fred Shaw responded that in previous years, the budget had a commentary page which showed all of the revenue coming in and the expenditures. This year, the budget information was formatted for the town government budget presentation and unfortunately there was no balance sheet provided. This information can be made available upon request. Chairman Richard Aries recommended putting an item on the Agenda each month to discuss the monthly summary of balances.
F. BILLS, CHANGE ORDERS, DISBURSEMENTS - None
G. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
1. 174 Farnham Road – Unbilled User Charges (Legal Opinion-Discussion)
Mr. William Vees dismissed himself at 8:20 p.m. because he was leaving.
Included with the Agenda was a copy of the legal opinion from the Town Attorney (see Exhibit E) with regards to unbilled user charges for property located at 174 Farnham Road, South Windsor, CT. A discussion ensued; Mr. Shaw will provide to the Authority a copy of the letter that was sent out to the previous owner which indicates the past due user fees since 1981. This item will be further discussed at the next WPCA meeting.
Motion was made to postpone this Item until the next WPCA meeting for further discussion and approval of the unbilled user charges.
The motion was made by Mr. Richard Siedman
The motion was seconded by Mr. Robert Dickinson
The motion carried unanimously
2. 415 Chapel Road, Release Form (Legal Opinion-Discussion)
Included with the Agenda was a copy of the agreement between the WPCA and Mr. Michael and Nicole Moriarty, who are the property owners of 415 Chapel Road, South Windsor, CT (see Exhibit F.) This agreement was reviewed by Dwight Johnson, Town Attorney. Chairman Richard Aries explained that this is the case of the property in which the septic tank was damaged; the property owner did not know the specific location of their septic tank following the maps or information that was provided by Town staff.
During a previous meeting, Mr. Moriarty agreed to this agreement which is now in a written form; the agreement will be released as soon as possible to Mr. and Mrs. Moriarty for their signature.
3. Commercial Condominiums Sewer Billing Policy (Discussion)
Included with the Agenda was a copy of the Commercial Condominiums Sewer Billing Policy for discussion (see Exhibit G.) Mr. Ed Havens, Jr. suggested postponing this Item for discussion at the next meeting; Chairman Aries agreed and also asked to include the Residential Condominiums Sewer Billing Policy for discussion at the next meeting.
Motion was made to postpone this Item for discussion at the next WPCA meeting and to add to the Agenda an Item for discussion of the residential sewer billing policy.
The motion was made by Mr. Ed Havens, Jr.
The motion was seconded by Mr. Richard Siedman
The motion carried unanimously
H. MOTION TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS PENDING CLAIMS - None
I. ADJOURNMENT
Motion was made to adjourn at 8:36 p.m.
The motion was made by Mr. Ed Havens, Jr.
The motion was seconded by Mr. Richard Siedman
The motion carried unanimously
Respectfully Submitted,
______________________________
Ether A. Diaz
Recording Secretary
| 
